Looking at gun control – part 2

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part look at gun control by Boylston resident Blaise DiTommaso.

Part 1 explained that administrative and technological changes are necessary and possible for our safe and fair “right to bear arms.” Guns are killing machines, though guns don’t do the actual killing. People kill. But people can’t kill with guns if they can’t readily get one, let alone two or more. Guns should be treated like cars with proper registration, alarms, inspections, insurance, etc…

Part 1 also touched on the fact that mass murderers (killer cowards) are usually people who have suffered somehow at the hand of others, who have been bullied, either personally or institutionally, and unsuspectingly plot their revenge – on a grandiose scale. They are not your typical criminals.

Whatever the situation, we need to minimize (eliminate) the risk of guns getting into the wrong hands with innocent victims paying the price for our inability to implement a fair and effective policy.

Banning unregulated weapons sales at gun shows would be a good place to start.

Another thought: Can anyone actually buy hand grenades or rocket launchers? Technically, this falls under the Second Amendment, too. The gun show loophole, which essentially bypasses background checks and waiting periods, is just ridiculous. So, no more gun shows where sales and profits are more important than safety and people.

All of this can be done and there are plenty of smart people (MIT smart, not political smart) to design it. We just have to think outside the limits of our own mental fences – and stop political pandering.

Everything that NRA bobble-head Wayne La Pierre says is impossible I can find a solution for. Again, I’m not even the expert, but I do know that technological and architectural capabilities already exist and need only be applied to this equation. None of these safety measures or design enhancements are insurmountable either, nor would they impede anyone’s right to possess a gun.

The costs of implementing such safety solutions shouldn’t be a problem either if we collect weapons fees – like motorists fees. I’m sure the NRA, no longer having to pay off lawmakers to snub legislation, could chip in their millions for their members rights. Freedom, as we know, is not always free.

The most recent loss of those 20 helpless, innocent children still deeply bothers me. I guess I’m troubled by the profound innocence, injustice and helplessness of the situation. I can’t image the emptiness that their parents and grandparents will forever feel just because some hopeless, hapless, bullied killer coward had unrestricted access to a military-style weapon dedicated for mass murder.

Maybe one of those Sandy Hook children had the cure for cancer. Maybe one of those kids who died at the summer camp on Utoya Island in Norway was to invent a clean renewable energy source that could sustain our planet for the next thousand years. We’ll never know now, will we?

Whatever I would personally need to do to save even the life of one more child to gun violence, I will do it. I’d take every one of those bullets too, if I could. We should all be so willing.

Blaise DiTommaso is a resident of Boylston and an occasional contributor to The Banner.

CDL A DELIVERY DRIVERS Home Every Night! Needed for our Worcester Depot! Drive local - No more spending valuable nights away from your family! As a Direct Store Delivery Representative YOU have the opportunity to make a difference with our customers! Provide excellent customer service; interact in a positive manner with our customers; deliver our products to local stores. Be home every night! Work for a Company that has been around for over 80 years! Minimum of 3 months driving experience with CDL A/B; GED or HS diploma required; Must be able to drive a standard transmission. EEO/Veteran/Disability Growing Strong Since1933!